EKOLOVESANIMAL

We love the aesthetic of EKOLOVESANIMAL bags, as well as their stance on animal cruelty and their beliefs about upcycling and redesign. The smooth, interesting shapes of their pieces give an insight to what the materials were used for in their previous lives – and we can always get down with that.

Please give us a bit of background about your brand, how you gotstarted and where you are from.The creators behind EKOLOVESANIMAL are Majla and Nicola, who met in Rome a few years ago. One is from the north, and the other one from the south of Italy. EKOLOVESANIMAL was born only a few months ago (just before we moved to Berlin). Our aim was to create a project that would combine our desire for practicality, a respect for animals and nature, while keeping within our own style. Something that would reflect our way of seeing and experiencing the world.

Our aim was to create a project that would combine our desire for practicality, a respect for animals and nature, while keeping within our own style. Something that would reflect our way of seeing and experiencing the world.

Your brand is focused on sustainability as well as a stance against animal cruelty. Can you elaborate on the reasons why this is important to you?Cruelty to animals is something we cannot tolerate. The choice of name was also a way of expressing how human beings are deeply connected to animals. It’s something that we feel the need to preserve. We must feel responsible. We use leather but we are vegetarians, and for animal rights, we think that EKOLOVESANIMAL could be the right balance. As well as greatly reducing the killing of animals, we try to recycle to reduce the enviromental impact, avoiding tanning of new leathers. We also decided to use recycled leather, because it has lasted over time, and has remaining signs of its past lives.

You’ve chosen to create a line of bags from recycled leather. Why bags?The bag is an item that people have with them everyday, throughout the continuous movements of everyday-life. We immediately thought about smooth shapes. Adaptable, but with a defined identity. The search for shapes without form fascinates us, enigmatic dark shapes. Our bags are designed to be spacious and comfortable, and to be used at any time of the day or night. Each bag is unique in its material and form.

The search for shapes without form fascinates us, enigmatic dark shapes. Our bags are designed to be spacious and comfortable, and to be used at any time of the day or night.

Where do you source your materials?For our bags, we use vintage leather which is recycled from old clothes and jackets. Usually we prefer the Italian market for its wider choice and availability of material… and because we love the typical way of bargaining with the Italian dealers.

How do you think living in Berlin affects your designs and products? Where can we find you when you’re not creating or selling?
Maybe it’s still too early to know. We really like wandering around the city, are fascinated by the old jackets still worn by “die Frauen” (despite the change in the fashion) and imagining new designs for our bags. Maybe at the stove satisfying our culinary passion… or looking for a house, of course.

Want one? Come and get ’em this week at our Show & Sell event. Find out more on EKOLOVESANIMAL on their website.